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19 Brock Ave Is Almost Ready. It's Waiting for You.
0% complete
$9,277 raised of $150K CAD
81 donations
Black Canadian art was first shown in living rooms — held in close, knowledgeable company, by the people who knew its worth long before institutions did. Black Artists' Networks in Dialogue (BAND) was founded in 2010 to help fill a gap in the Canadian cultural landscape: building a home where Black art is presented, studied, and celebrated at the level it commands. It began with maxine bailey, Karen Carter, Dr. Julie Crooks, and Karen Tyrell — four Black women whose work has helped shape Black Canadian art and culture. BAND is located in a Victorian home at 19 Brock Avenue in Toronto.
For 16 years, BAND has delivered the impact of an institution ten times its size by:
- Supporting Artists: Presenting exhibitions and activations nationally and internationally, creating sales and commission opportunities, and making career-defining connections with major collectors, museums, and commercial galleries.
- Building Community: Welcoming thousands of visitors through workshops, artist talks, film screenings, and cultural events, establishing a vital gathering space for Canada’s Black artists and visiting artists alike.
- Driving Systemic Change: Building a pipeline of Black cultural leaders: curators gain early career experience at BAND and go on to hold positions at Major Canadian Art institutions.
While there is much to be proud of, we still have more to do. BAND is building for the future. We have been transforming the house we own in a home for Black art in Toronto.
Room by room, we are transforming a Victorian house in a Toronto west end neighbourhood into a space that can hold museum-grade exhibitions and open its doors fully accessible to everyone. Since 2010, we have been helping to move many Black Canadian artists and cultural workers forward. Imagine what can be accomplished with a museum quality space.
Together, we are raising $150,000 in 90 days to complete and prepare to open 19 Brock Avenue, a historic Toronto home transformed into a museum-grade gallery dedicated to Black art. The exhibitions and programs are planned. Every season our doors remain closed is a season of missed art experiences, income for artists, and community gathering. This last stretch belongs to all of us.
We have raised more than $3 million through government, corporate, and private funding to support the demolition and most of the rebuild, including excavating a new lower-level space, adding an elevator and staircase, expanding our galleries, installing a museum-grade HVAC system, and relocating the entrance to improve accessibility.
Help us carry it home. With your support, 19 Brock Avenue will become a museum-grade gallery held in all the love and care of a welcoming home:
- Museum-Grade Galleries: Fully accessible spaces with climate control, professional lighting, and an elevator.
- Intergenerational Spaces: Rooms for everyone, families, elders and youth to connect and build together.
- A Living Archive: Keeping the physical history of Canadian Black art in community hands with a resource and reference library.
- Working Studios: Spaces where artists make, experiment, teach, and get paid
In the end, this is about legacy: a permanent place for Black art in Canada, and another layer of this country's cultural fabric made visible for generations to come.
Where the $150,000 Goes
Professional Gallery Finishes ($50,000): Supports engineered wood flooring, wayfinding signage, architectural essentials, and museum-grade lighting to present professional exhibitions and strengthen the visitor experience.
Artist-Designed Interiors & Furnishings ($50,000): Brings local and international artists and artisans into the building’s final design. This funding will ensure artists are paid to create permanent, integrated works that embed their hands, ideas, and craftsmanship into the fabric of 19 Brock.
Opening Team ($50,000): Supports the hiring of an administrator and facilities coordinator to strengthen our operational capacity and help prepare for the opening of our new permanent home.
Two Ways to Build With Us Right Now
We have 90 days to meet our goal.
- GIVE: Give whatever is yours to give. Every dollar helps.
- SHARE: Post this link. Text it to three people. Tag an artist, a family member, a teacher.
Donate. Share. Then come to the opening because this house is yours too.
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Black Artists' Networks in Dialogue
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